


Summer Triangle

by merumoth



Series: Star-crossed Courtship [2]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Astrology, Astronomy, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Relationship Study, Stargazing, Walks On The Beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2020-10-18 23:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20647100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merumoth/pseuds/merumoth
Summary: With how much love their juniors put into setting them up, both of themdohave to go on that date.Once again, it goes a lot better than planned.-- Will have references to Biblio, Devils, and Gondola, but not vital ones.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora 🤝 Yuuta 🤝 Hinata: Matchmaking Skill, level 99

\-- The 'date' was to be that very next night.

Tsumugi finished taking inventory of the library catalogue just two minutes before Sora poked his head in. The usual “Senpai~” trailed off all the way until he had picked up the bag of his date-relevant things. Towel, sandals, water bottle, a couple snacks, etc. Why were all of these things important for a _date?___

_ __ _

Their walk to the beach wasn’t eventful, nor was it far from the school in the first place. Only a little noise was left, people chatting while heading back to their cars while the setting sun spat pink and purple across all the clouds in the sky. It was all purple by the time Sora stopped him and laughed, tugging Tsumugi wordlessly off further on the boardwalk. If he wasn’t being forced, he would have tripped -- between the glasses and the growing darkness, his eyes couldn’t adjust fast enough to see properly.

Sora slowed to a stop, and Tsumugi _did_ trip, but instead of landing on the wood panels, he had landed on someone’s side. Two arms curled around him to keep him upright, and he didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was. 

“Good evening, Rei-kun,” he panted, lingering there for a few more breaths.

“Aoba-kun.” Met with a smile, until Tsumugi pulled himself off and accepted a different water bottle.

Surprisingly few words were exchanged between the five. All three of their associated first-years had carefully arranged this once they had set up their senpais, and since their work was done, Hinata winked while pulling Yuuta off with Sora close behind. “Weeeeell! Enjoy your time, see you tomorrow!”

And they were off before Tsumugi had even caught his breath. That was it, apparently.

He turned to face Rei, handing the water bottle back. “They seem so eager... I’m almost envious of their enthusiasm.” 

“The first years possess so much vitality... what a lovely bunch.”

Humming his agreement, Tsumugi smiled.

\-- There was a brief silence, while they stood with the waves splashing loudly in the near distance, past the strip of shops closing for the night. It’s interesting, he noted, that he’s not the awkward one this time. Rei was silent, contemplating something, unusually quiet.

“Rei-kun?”

“Yes?” That got his attention. Tsumugi watched him adjust the strap of his own beach bag. “What can I do for you, Aoba-kun?”

In watching the beach bag adjustment, Tsumugi’s attention got caught on Rei’s sleeve, to his open shirt, to his smooth chest, stomach with a little definition... “-- Tsk, tsk.” Rei grinned. “Just because we’re on a date doesn’t mean you should be staring so soon.” He wasn’t doing anything to change that, though.

There was really nothing to reply with besides a subtle giggle. “Well, my date is Rei-kun, so you can’t blame me for being a little giddy, you know?”

“That’s fair, I suppose!” Rei’s soft snort was not discreet enough to miss, especially not with his smug grin.

He leaned his back over the rails, resting his elbows against the top edge. The curve of his back really did seem like an old man... and he was back to being silent. Tsumugi wondered what he was really thinking in there, so he turned to face the ocean, too.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been out at night with you before.” Tsumugi commented despite it being pointless.

“Indeed... if we were, my memory is somewhat lacking.” Rei’s statement was personally relatable. “What would you like to do?”

Hum. “That’s a question I don’t have an answer to. I’ve never been on a date like this one, and barely come here in the first place.” Tsumugi tapped his finger to his lower lip. “We have free reign over the beach at this hour, don’t we?”

Rei said nothing, smirking with a sideways glance.

“... What is there to do? The water’s much too cold for anything, especially right now.” Tsumugi received nothing more than a closed-mouth chuckle, but that answered the question. He turned his head back to face the ocean before his grin was too wide to hide. 

* * *

“It’s very thoughtful of them to bring us out where we won’t be recognized.” One strand of blue hair snagged itself around his finger instead of twirling normally. The salty air must have affected it already. Even though Rei never replied, Tsumugi didn’t feel that worried -- it was a comfortable silence, filled with waves and splashes. Whatever was on his mind, Rei would say it sooner or later.

Reaching the end of the boardwalk, Tsumugi watched as Rei took two more steps, pulled off one sandal, then the other. He plucked his own sandals off and hung them between his fingers, taking Rei’s outstretched hand without thinking too much about it. It wasn’t soft or smooth, but it was warm and it was Rei’s hand, so that was more than enough to leave Tsumugi’s cheeks heating.

He didn’t directly hold Rei’s hand, but he didn’t pull his hand out, either. Tsumugi left it there, in his grip, until Rei’s fingers spread apart and his own slid out.

Tsumugi glanced over once his hand fell to his side, but his curious ‘Rrm?’ was only met with a sideways smirk. He smiled back, but the silence was showing an inkling of nervousness in Tsumugi’s mind... what was Rei thinking about?

* * *

The sand squished between their toes with every step. When they stepped through the moist sand along the shore, it was their toes that squished into the sand. The remaining footprints fascinated Tsumugi until the tide brushed their ankles and washed the footprints away. One thing of note that he learned from watching their feet was the surprising size difference.

“Aoba-kun?” Rei asked, turning his head to face Tsumugi, who had stopped three strides away. “Is something the matter?”

Tsumugi’s initial reply wasn’t much besides a chuckle. He bounced two steps past Rei, then swiveled on one foot to face him. “Your feet are small.” To illustrate the point, he stepped firmly in the sand next to Rei, pulled his foot back off. And waited.

One blink, two blinks. Then Rei stepped partly behind Tsumugi, lightly bumping his side against Tsumugi’s back until he’d lost his balance and tilted forward. Before the resulting squeak finished, Rei snaked his arms under Tsumugi’s and held fast to catch him. He plopped his chin firmly on one of Tsumugi’s shoulders after hoisting him back upright. “There are times and places to say such strange things, but do you truly think a first date is one of them?”

Sighing, Tsumugi relaxed into his grip. “That’s true, but you aren’t one to talk, Rei-kun. You haven’t spoken much the whole time, anyway.”

“_Huhu._ I’ll tell you later.”

So there _was_ something.

* * *

They walked for a long time, talking about anything and everything. Family, friends, life, clubs, lives, what their personal favorite color was, what they wanted to be as children, “Why does Ritsu-kun despise you?” to “What’s _your_ family like, Aoba-kun?”, all the way to “How many instruments do you play?” and even “Have you ever played any yourself?”

It had been nearly an hour since they began walking, but Tsumugi didn’t notice and Rei didn’t care. The position of the moon made approximating the time easy, but Tsumugi didn’t stop babbling or asking Rei questions long enough to guess.

It was about eleven-thirty when they reached the end of the beach, where the sand thinned out between rocks and a dune to the side rose from there. Tsumugi caught Rei’s wrist before he headed up, who looked back curiously.

“Rei-kun, are you _sure_ about that? It’s very high up... can you truly handle that?”

“Oh, you forget that I am a creature of the night. The moonlight restores my energy, you know -- I haven’t lost _all_ my vitality yet.”

Tsumugi let go of his wrist, but opened his bag and yanked out a water bottle to hand over. “At least take a sip.” 

He took more than a sip. Tsumugi watched him down a third of his water bottle, and watched a small drop slip past his lips and chin. With the way Rei’s head tilted back a bit, his throat moved with every gulp. Tsumugi wasn’t sure why he was staring until the water bottle returned to his hand. 

“Thank you, Aoba-kun.” Rei grinned, grateful. “Shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, in fact, I _am_ finishing everything I wanted to do for ESO and putting it here.
> 
> this one is like 3/4 done at the time of this writing, but nearing 8k words overall... and that's not exactly as bite-sized as I prefer to write. therefore! I am cleaning/editing it from the start.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neither of them have great eyesight, so they used a phone to aid in starwatching. One pair of glasses, two seniors with bad eyesight.
> 
> In other words... a _blind date._

“This,” between huffs, “was not your best idea.”

The hike already shaved around five minutes off their night. Tsumugi bent to hold his aching knees. It couldn’t have been arthritis, but he sure was sore.

“Ahh, you have yet to understand my intentions.”

Tsumugi’s brows lifted, as did his voice. “What does that mean... ? Were you planning something?”

“Patience.” Rei winked, spreading out a towel of his own from his beach bag and plopping on it. Tsumugi sat next to him, brushing off a majority of the sand from his feet before crossing his legs and ankles on the towel. He couldn’t say he was calm, but he wasn’t very anxious, either.

“That’s still a bit ominous, coming from you.” 

Stretching, then crossing his legs in front of him, Rei only smirked, leaning back on his palms and sighing peacefully. He stared up at the sky like that, and Tsumugi followed his gaze upward, leaning back on his palms.

* * *

“The stars are brighter here... much more than near the city.”

“That’s from light pollution.” Tsumugi knew this from the astronomy books he read concurrently with astrology books. “It’s a bit like a busy restaurant. With all the voices chattering, it’s harder to hear across the booth... it’s a similar concept.”

“That’s interesting.” Rei hummed at the explanation. “It makes more sense when you phrase it like that.”

“Well, physics subjects _are_ very confusing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, you should be the one to say that too. I’m not worried, but you tend to worry about everything.”

Tsumugi frowned a bit, turning his head, but found nothing to reply with. Rei was right, and there wasn’t any particular need for a comeback. Still, he wanted to reply with _something_, even if it wasn’t particularly witty.

Instead, he ended up asking what other cultures Rei had seen thought of the moon. A lot of old myths, whether the pattern of craters on the surface represented a rabbit, or a man on the moon? Tsumugi rambled about the myths he knew while Rei listened attentively, commenting here and there, seeming to take the moon discussion in another direction every time.

But, in the middle of teaching Tsumugi how to say “good night” in Spanish, Rei sighed again, the smile in his voice obvious. “This is quite rare for me...” he mumbled, followed by another one of his deep chuckles, facing Tsumugi with a gentle smile. “It’s wonderful having company late at night, especially outdoors. It may have been arranged, but I’m truly grateful.”

Rei-kun, the borderline celebrity with the gravitational pull for everyone, smiled at him. And _only_ him, right then. It was only the two of them. Tsumugi suddenly realized how many people would be envious, and how amazing his luck must have been yesterday. It was definitely real, because his extremities were a little cold, even though Rei’s smile warmed his face well.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure.” He couldn’t hide the blush on his face, nor how his voice rose in pitch. His own smile would never be that radiant at night, but he still smiled back at Rei.

\-- However, in other eyes, Tsumugi’s smile was as sweet as the sugar cookies Rei once tried from Shu’s personal oven. Those had been a bit too rich for his liking, but Tsumugi wasn’t the kind of sweet that Rei had a hard time swallowing. Tsumugi was the type of sweet that Ritsu loved to spend time in the library to be around, napping and buried in blankets personally provided.

Even though Rei would never truly forgive Tsumugi for stealing the title of ‘onii-chan’, he knew it was unintentional. Rei fell under that spell, too, even if the effect wasn’t the same.

The way Tsumugi stared back, without looking away, deserved investigation.

“Sometimes,” Rei began, “I visit the library to borrow your glasses to see you without them.”

Tsumugi continued staring for one and one-half seconds before the meaning seemed to sink in. “What?” Clearly taken aback, but the wide-eyed, part-flattered, part-accusatory expression spoke an entire novel, not just volumes. “Why? I almost died under the bookcases the last time you took them!”

Rei snickered back. “You didn’t, though. You’re fine now, aren’t you?”

“That doesn’t excuse it at all!”

“Well, I can’t help myself. You’re still very attractive without them.” Once again, Rei winked. Tsumugi was taken aback even further, flushing more and turning his head away. It was adorable. He really did fit that ‘ideal partner’ image he’d told their first-years about... but he still didn’t know if Tsumugi _enjoyed_ cuddling. The last, but not least important quality he’d listed.

Rei rested his hand against Tsumugi’s knee, drumming his fingers idly. “Are you cold?”

“Aah--?” That jolt of surprise underneath his palm reminded him of the times he would do so in their previous year. “... A bit, yes.”

Of course, Rei took that as an invitation, wrapping his arm past Tsumugi’s shoulders, curving his elbow over one, and pulled him closer. He ran his arm along Tsumugi’s arm firmly in a half-hearted effort to warm him up. It didn’t seem to work, judging by the full-bodied shiver. “It shouldn’t get much colder than this.”

Tsumugi eventually relaxed, leaning against Rei with an obvious sense of peace.

* * *

“I wonder... which stars are up there tonight?”

Tsumugi turned his head to blink at Rei, before looking up to the sky, adjusting his glasses up by the bridge of his nose. “There’s at least a few constellations visible tonight.”

“You know a lot more about proper astronomy than I’d have imagined. Which ones?”

“Judging by the season, Aquila, Cygnus, Hercules, and Lyra should be up there.” Tsumugi hummed. “There’s also Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, and Scorpius.”

Rei patted Tsumugi’s shoulder with a bit of awe about how Tsumugi remembered all of those specifically from summer. “If I recall correctly, I’m a Scorpio in the Western zodiac. Where is it?”

“... Well, if I could recall the positions, I’d point Scorpius out.” Tsumugi pulled out of Rei’s arm to dig around in his bag, pulling out his phone, but-- “It’s past midnight! We should head back--”

“You already want to leave? That _hurts,_ Tsumugi~ I won’t stop you if you want to leave, though.”

And Tsumugi didn’t do anything but frown. “It’s not that I want to leave, it’s that we’re an entire hour away. It’s so late at night, and let’s not get lost on the way back...”

Rei peeked over Tsumugi’s shoulder. “You still have service all the way out here. Three bars of it. We’re not _too_ terribly far.”

The way he leaned back against Rei on his own volition explained itself. “I suppose... I’d rather stay, it’s very nice here. I’m just worried.”

A tiny hum of acknowledgement. “Like I said, you worry too much.” Rei might have been fond of the worrying for how well it balanced his usual carefree nature, but he was aware it was to the point of anxiety, which took a toll on people. To make a point, Rei tapped Tsumugi’s nose, who flinched a bit. “Anyway, what did you need your phone for?”

“Well, if I can't see the stars well enough myself, I'll just have to look up which constellations are where.”

“That's fair, I suppose.” Rei shrugged, watching with awe as Tsumugi's fingers typed words into the search bar.

* * *

It took the search engine a remarkably long time to provide a proper map of the constellations, but Tsumugi realized once the chart fully loaded that he had picked an image well over four megapixels, and the phone service dropped to two bars in the process. He grumbled while Rei simply observed the image's slow crawl down the screen into the full picture. And even then, Tsumugi had to zoom in before he found the general area of the summer constellations.

As he held it up in front of him to compare to what was up in the sky in front of them, Rei stopped peeking over his shoulder. “There's so many. How is anyone able to tell which star is which?”

“Oh, it’s all in the positioning.” Tsumugi didn't elaborate, instead swiping his finger on the phone to the left, moving the map.

Such a reply didn't help Rei, who glanced back to the sky and back at the phone. “Where would I start, though? The stars are all very scattered, and this is my first time hunting them, so I'll certainly have a lot to learn from you.”

“Well, I only know so much, but I’ll try.” Tsumugi murmured, then pointing to a specific patch of sky. "Do you see the bright stars there?"

Again, there were a lot of stars, but the brightest one in the patch stood out. “Somewhat.”

“If you look nearby, there are two other very bright stars, right?”

Rei squinted, but thankfully it didn't take very long to locate them, then relaxing his eyelids. “Yes, I believe so.”

Tsumugi lowered his phone. “Those three stars make up the Summer Triangle. It's a distinct shape that navigators relied on long ago, especially for sailors. Compasses don't help at sea.”

“Aah.” Smiling, Rei leaned back a bit more. “Is it a constellation, too?”

“Not exactly. It's an asterism, like the Big Dipper. Constellations are officially recognized as areas of the sky, whereas asterisms are patterns of stars and lines that are more visible to our eyes. Or, rather, constellations are like whole countries with borders unmarked in person, and asterisms are like cities, connected by highways and transit lines.”

“Mm, that makes plenty of sense.” Nodding, Rei tilted his head to mentally draw out the lines from the stars. He looked briefly at Tsumugi, who shifted his eyes to look at Rei in return. Once he'd noticed, Rei looked back up, but had a bit of trouble finding the same bunch of stars again.

Tsumugi brought his phone up to his face again. “Although it's informal, there's a Chinese folk tale about two of these stars. It's celebrated there as the--” he paused to pronounce it properly, “... Qixi festival. It's where the story behind Tanabata originated.”

Rei's interest was piqued instantly. The comparison clicked together easily. “Star-crossed lovers?”

“More or less. Here, I'll read off the poems...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been dividing these into bite-sized segments to make them easier to write... does it make the fic, as a whole, easier to read?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My, how the tables have turned.

Tsumugi's voice was so gentle and calm that Rei wondered if someday, he might narrate a documentary. Maybe this was just how he was, or just the waves crashing off at the cliff nearby, the chirp of crickets, or all of those. He still listened intently, but after the third poem, Tsumugi had trouble finding the fourth, leaving plenty of time for Rei to swim through his thoughts.

“From what I'm getting, Zhinu was a fairy, Niulang a human, and their love wasn't allowed, so they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river. But a flock of magpies formed a bridge to reunite them for a day?”

“More or less. Most likely, Zhinu wasn't a _fairy_ by our standards, but it's been so long that I doubt anyone knows what the original word meant at th--”

“Maybe she was a vampire.” Rei smirked immediately with how confused Tsumugi became in only two seconds. 

“I don't think vampires like that exist in Chinese folklore, Rei-kun.”

“Perhaps not, but that _is_ one reason why she'd be separated from Niulang. A fairy wouldn't be harmful to him-- why else would they be forbidden to see each other?”

“... Rei-kun, _please._” 

A grimace followed until Rei booped Tsumugi's nose again. "You're not very imaginative tonight, Tsumugi. You're in the Handicrafts club, so you represent the weaver girl, but as a human. I am a supernatural creature of the night with a penchant for helping others. It's not so different."

By the time Tsumugi stopped gaping and his flushed cheeks were visible, Rei's grin had just faded into concern. Maybe that was too bold of a flirt? He cuddled Tsumugi closer, even while his hands hid his face from Rei.

Silence, until he muttered through his fingers below. “That type of comment must be why you rarely have dates...”

Amused, Rei chuckled at the implications. “Perhaps.”

* * *

Sometimes he'd forget just how contagious yawning was from up close, until Tsumugi yawned for the third time in the same discussion. Therefore, Rei was _also_ yawning, which clearly shocked Tsumugi. 

“I didn’t think you’d let yourself get sleepy.” And, again, a yawn.

“That’s your fourth yawn since the topic changed. Those are infectious, though I’m sure you were fully aware.”

“Yes, I am.” Tsumugi said as though there weren’t tears in his eyes after the sheer force of the latest one, “However, we’re still an hour away from the city by foot... and have yet to head back. That’s a bit far...”

“Since we’re both tired... might as well take a nap, and head back later.” Rei leaned to the side to pull another towel out of his bag, only to cover himself and lay his head down directly on Tsumugi’s thigh without another word. 

In turn, this led to another yawn, and Tsumugi staring down at Rei’s peaceful expression. “Uwah-- you didn’t leave any space.”

“There isn’t any left, unless you don’t mind sharing the length of the towel.” A definite smirk upward -- there really wasn’t any other option left. And, as usual, Rei got what he wanted, covering Tsumugi with the same towel. 

A full-body shiver later, Tsumugi curled to Rei’s chest, huddling his hands close. He was cold to the touch. “Don’t tickle me, please.” Whereas his body felt chilly, his breath was warm, puffing onto Rei’s skin with each syllable.

How Rei snaked his arm over Tsumugi must have implied something other than harmless snuggles. “I make no promises.”

* * *

There were several soft wheezes in his ear when Tsumugi blinked his eyes open. When he reached to pat the edge of the towel for his phone and glasses, Rei’s arm slid off his side loosely as he rolled onto his back, buried so far in dreamland that he might not even wake up during a thunderstorm.

According to his phone's lock screen, it’d been three in the morning for fourteen minutes.

He rubbed his eyes until his glasses made any sense of whatever his eyes wanted to see. Obviously the stars, the ocean, the sand, the trees bending away from the water, the rocks at the edge of the grass, the-- oh, Rei curled up against his side.

“It’s three in the morning.” Tsumugi shook Rei’s shoulder and only received a grumble.

“We _will_ need to head back eventually.” Rei buried his face further in Tsumugi’s thigh.

“I don’t want to dump water on you...” Only a hum for a response.

Sighing, Tsumugi adjusted his glasses, starting to regret taking the nap. He let Rei crawl on his leg again, assisting in the process until his head was perfectly laid on his lap. What to do, what to do. He really wasn’t fond of being stern, so the water was technically an option…

The moonlight no doubt illuminated his face just as any vampire novel would’ve loved to describe, with eyelashes no one noticed this much during the daytime, and eyes that shared warmth despite the--

\-- Rei’s fingers plucked the glasses right off the bridge of his nose and replaced them on his own face. He pulled himself upright before Tsumugi had even noticed he was awake. Thus, the world became blurry.

“You were awake, weren’t you?”

He answered his own question before he’d even asked it. Tsumugi didn’t need to see Rei’s sly face to know he had a smirk, but he’d love to see more than a soft blur.

He leaned closer to Rei in some sort of challenge, which caught Rei off guard -- to the point where _he_ was the one leaning away, and Tsumugi was the one up close and personal. That wasn’t good, so he caught Rei’s chin and craned his neck closer again. “Rei-kun, Rei-kun. If you move away, I won’t be able to see you.”

“Tsumugi.” It’s just a whisper, nothing to it besides a name, which he’d have to ask about later. Their proximity being this close allowed Tsumugi to notice something savory in Rei’s breath, but he couldn’t place it.

Paying too much attention to the much clearer face in front of him was sufficient retribution for the incessant flirting before the nap. Tsumugi had just enough moonlight to see the darker shade on Rei’s cheeks, even if his imagination had to fill in the color. The excuse must have held up enough, because Rei didn’t move away and remained still.

And Tsumugi barely thought about it until he dodged Rei’s nose and his glasses to briefly rest their lips together. It wasn’t steamy, heated, no jolts of static like previous encounters, but a pleasant warmth. The taste indicated that his dinner had been tomato soup.

He loitered there for at least three seconds until sliding his lips to the side and and plucking his glasses off Rei’s nose, replacing them onto his face. Pseudo-innocent beaming, like he’d done nothing out of the ordinary. “Ah, I can see again.”

“Bold tonight, aren’t you.” Somehow, Rei sounded impressed.

“You _did_ ask me what _I’d_ like to do.”

“_Fufu._ Still, I didn’t expect that from you, Tsumugi.” Leaning back onto his palms again, raising his eyebrows.

So did his own, from curiosity. “Rei-kun? When did you start calling me by my name again?”

Another silence. “You,” he muttered, “overestimate my memory.” No doubt that the deeper tone marked embarrassment.

“Well, you can keep doing it, if you like. It feels like we’re not so distant this way.”

“We’re not distant at all... right now.” It took a moment too long for Rei to finish the sentence. Followed by with an undignified and amusing ‘hmph’, this was very satisfying.

“Ahaha... Just now, you avoided saying it again, didn’t you?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, we speak what we think, but the words don't sound right in someone else's ears.

The moon went to the other side of the sky, and the Summer Triangle faced away from the ocean. Once another conversation had trailed off, they turned their backs to the ocean to see the stars once more.

“Tsumugi?”

“Hm?”

“When is the Qixi festival held?”

Tsumugi didn’t remember. He lifted his index finger, just to be given a moment to grab his phone and open the search engine. The browser still had the folktale open, so Rei didn’t have to wait long. “The seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Why? Tanabata has already passed.”

Rei lifted _his_ index finger to be given a moment to explain. “The lunar year doesn’t start at the same time the calendar year does.” A smug smile between sentences, too. “Look up when the festival is held this year.”

Even though confused, Tsumugi entered the festival into the search bar. Unfortunately, it took well over five seconds off his patience. “August 7th.”

“Oh?” Rei's grin turned downright chilling, in the sense that Tsumugi had no idea what that was supposed to mean in the context of a date. “The seventh of August. That’s your birthday, isn’t it?”

It took only a little less time for that to sink in to Tsumugi’s mind, compared to the five seconds of the phone’s load time. Once the realization connected the two events in his mind, he felt his mind blown from not just the coincidence, but how Rei had remembered his birthday when Tsumugi had already forgotten.

“Speechless, are we?” There was that classic Rei-style almost-dark chuckle again, but it wasn’t dark enough to snap Tsumugi out of the wide-eyed gaping he didn’t know he was making. “Maybe we’ll have to cross the bridge of magpies to meet each other again...”

This, though, didn’t take long at all to process. “Ahah... you’re shameless, Rei-kun.”

“I used to be quite the flirt in my youth, yes.” Rei acknowledged before looking up at the Triangle. “But that doesn’t mean I would say things of this nature so carelessly.”

Hum. Tsumugi looked back up, too. “Are you sure? You _were_ a prolific heart-breaker last year.”

One dramatic gasp later, Rei placed a hand over his chest, breathing as if he were in pain. It was almost _too_ realistic. “Is that what you truly think... ?”

Glancing back at Rei, who had looked over at seemingly the same exact time, Tsumugi tilted his head. “I don’t think I follow what you’re getting at?”

In response, Rei inhaled deeply and cleared his throat, as if he were preparing to tell a story to grandchildren. “There’s a reason I brought that up. You stayed distant from me, even when others came closer. You weren’t drawn in like anyone else. To meet you, I had to come to you, and that was new.”

Tsumugi’s mind had yet to catch up with the point. “I was just as much a fan of yours, as were most of my classmates.”

“That, dear Tsumugi, isn’t relevant. Interacting in person is different from admiration from afar. It wasn’t until I’d met you myself that you’d look at me from less than two meters away. That hesitance is why I was interested, and why I visited so frequently.”

When Tsumugi’s mind ran slower than usual, another statement to process nearly froze it. He didn’t reply until Rei’s eyes were off him. “Is _that_ why? All this time, I thought you only wanted to tease me. That there was a different reason you’d pick me for company... I can’t say I’d have ever known.”

“Mm...” The way Rei seemed to sink his shoulders a little lower spoke enough for Tsumugi to feel guilty. “That’s the difficulty I’ve always faced. I may never truly know if someone is friends with me, or if they’re friends with ‘Rei Sakuma’, the ‘demon king’. It’s been easier to tell the difference if _I’m_ the one seeking _their_ company... and such an approach doesn’t necessarily result in friendship, or even closeness.”

This was all a lot to digest, so Tsumugi remained quiet, pensive while his eyes latched onto a strand of beach grass while Rei idly tapped his fingers on his knee.

“Even now, after we’ve worn ourselves into the ground, I’m still dropping by the library when I have the time. We may be very different from who we used to be, but that doesn’t change that I consider you as a friend.”

All of this, all at once, wouldn’t be possible to process right that very moment. Instead, Tsumugi exhaled, tilted his head from one side to another, his farther hand scratching his scalp lightly. “Isn’t it a bit strange to tell me that you consider me as a _friend_ while we’ve been on a date for about six hours now?”

With how Rei’s eyebrows raised just as much as his shoulders did, Tsumugi could guess that hadn’t been the response he’d expected. “... I suppose this isn’t the place to think about the past so deeply.”

“It’s not a place we should stay much longer at, either... it’s four in the morning, and there’s plenty of time if we head back now.” Tsumugi’s response felt a bit too harsh once it came out, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it at that point. He wasn’t sure how he should feel, either, until they weren’t so far away from the city.

Either way, Rei seemed to accept that, pulling himself upright with a little huff from the effort.

* * *

Tsumugi didn’t have enough time to brush the sand off the towel he had before Rei had already shifted the straps on his beach bag over his shoulder. It’d bother him if sand ended up on his neck, but he couldn’t brush off every single grain of sand without time-consuming effort that he’d rather spend walking back. Even in silence, brushing off a towel would be distracting.

There was a distinct sigh as Tsumugi hesitated before following. Rei hadn’t said a single word since getting up, and hadn’t looked in his direction, either. It’d be wonderful to have some idea what’s wrong through reading the atmosphere, but Tsumugi wasn’t particularly capable of that. Besides, there was a high chance it was the exact mistake that he’d never noticed how Rei genuinely considered him a friend, the same thing weighing down his shoulders as he turned away.

Even with his ankles feeling oddly heavy, it didn’t take much effort to catch up with Rei’s slow pace. Just as he caught up, Rei’s foot hit the sand on a slightly higher patch of the hill-- who stumbled forward. Tsumugi had already been looking, so the quick tipping forward had been easy to see. It’s a good thing he stood a little further forward. He reached far out with both arms on reflex, digging in his ankles into the sand underneath until the impact-- which was oddly lightweight. Rei’s torso firmly pressed to Tsumugi’s arm as he landed, and another curled over his back to secure him there.

During the moment of surprise, Rei held completely still. His breathing pressed against Tsumugi’s arm, in and out, while his fingers curled around that same arm. Surprised at his strength, Tsumugi waited for Rei to recover, but he wasn’t finished catching his breath. To his credit, he’d seemed exhausted since waking up, and even more so after moving down the hill.

“... Rei-kun?” Tsumugi wondered why neither of them had pulled away yet. “Are you feeling well enough to make it back?”

A murmur and a laugh was the only response. “I’m alright. Dawn is nearing, that’s all.”

“That’s not what your body seems to be saying.” Tsumugi’s face fell, concerned beyond the level of worries he usually had. “You need your iron supplements, don’t you?”

Rei sighed, breathing out tension as he relaxed into Tsumugi’s arms, resigning himself to accept the fussing. “Yes.”

“Let’s stop at the bottom of this hill for a bit, then.” Tsumugi unfolded his arms, but kept his hand steady on Rei’s wrist. Whatever nocturnal energy Rei claimed to have had faded significantly by now…

Rei’s hum of agreement was quiet-- sad, somehow, in a way Tsumugi wouldn’t be able to identify.

* * *

Until the beach stretched out smooth, flat, and without an incline, Tsumugi led them both slowly, growing more and more concerned. “Just a breather, then we can keep going.” He slid his bag fully off his shoulder, found the half-empty water bottle, and reached to take Rei’s bag as well. It was heavy, for some reason, but at least fishing out the iron supplements didn’t take long. He handed both to Rei. “Let’s take it slowly.”

Rei unscrewed the cap off the bottle of supplements, downed two, and handed back the water bottle. He wiped his mouth before he spoke, where a glint of water had clearly missed the target and slid down from his lower lip. “I’m not old enough to need my hand held.”

“Old or not, I’m still worried you’ll get sick with so much exertion...”

“Tsumugi,” Rei warned, “I’m alright. I can take the bag back, now.” The way his brows furrowed just a little didn’t settle well in Tsumugi’s stomach, on top of the response being hard to swallow.

That’s when Tsumugi realized that his lack of comprehension on the previous topic had done much more harm than his mistakes usually would. He’d answered a heartfelt expression of deep platonic appreciation with a statement that acknowledged none of it, that _rejected_ those words. As usual, his mistakes piled up higher than the hill they’d just gotten off of, but... even then, this wasn’t something he wanted to just leave alone.

While Rei’s stare fell elsewhere, Tsumugi let his lips return to his default smile, natural as ever. There was no time like the present. “Well... I know it’s a bit ironic for me to say this, considering how clumsy I become when you and I are in the same room, but... please, let me take care of you this time.”

As though Rei had developed the same level of reluctance Tsumugi had not long ago, he held his expression, shaking his head, not even glancing back. “Don’t feel obligated, Aoba-kun.”

The sudden reversion to the distance they had at the start of the night... Tsumugi’s metaphorical grave fell far deeper than he’d thought. Even so, he’d still try. “I don’t help out of social expectation... rather, I help others because I genuinely like to. It’s fine to lean on someone else.”

When Rei turned his face back, even if only for a moment, his unamused stare felt like embers directly on Tsumugi’s skin, but after that, he glanced away. “You tend to overcompensate for the previous year, so it’s never clear whether you _wish_ to help for the sake of another, or if you _need_ to help to soothe your guilty consciousness. Are you sure it’s genuine?”

... That’s something Tsumugi himself now realized he wasn’t certain which it was, either. Such a deep sting to his heart must have been retribution for what he’d said earlier, if not more than that. Perhaps the sinking feeling down his stomach was venom, as it, too, burned on the way down.

Tsumugi kept quiet, shuffling the bag off his shoulder and handing it back to Rei. The bottle of supplements was dropped in the bag, lifted onto his shoulder that momentarily drooped from the weight.

“... Please, at least let me know if you feel any worse.”

Rei shut his eyes with a grunt. “Will do.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This must be the feeling of having friends this dear to you...   
... Unless... ?

The silence pulled all the contentment brought in with the tide before, and tossed it into the waves to drift away in the sea. It was filled with the sounds of nature, but the buzzing of thoughts and anxiety drowned it out. Even though Tsumugi left the topic alone, the physical distance between them wouldn’t let him relax.

Tsumugi’s phone gained another bar of signal, and only seven minutes had passed since they left the hill. Nothing on the phone was worth checking, and he’d only been doing so because any word he wanted to say got caught in his throat.

In fact, when he did manage to speak, it was about as messy as his hair after being on the beach all night. “... Were you hurt by the things I have done in the past?”

His face must have been extra-concerning, judging by how Rei’s attention snapped up to him instantly. “You worry about this every day, Aoba-kun. It’s a bit much.”

“Yes, well.” Sighing through his nose, Tsumugi held his glasses off his face and rubbed his eyes. He should have expected Rei to say that-- just as most everyone would. “I won’t feel any better no matter how many times anyone says that. It’s not as if I’m the only one mentioning it, anyway.”

Rei’s lips moved, but whatever he was saying was drowned out by the tide. Tsumugi felt that instant sting of regret, but who knew whether it was a genuine assessment, or simply his own mind chastising him for being rude again. Either way, he’d rather not let silence fall again. 

“I used to consider you the same way, but... what you said back in spring was in direct opposition to that. Please don’t think that I wasn’t your friend. I still consider you mine, even though until tonight, I thought it was out of pity.”

At some point, Rei had turned his head to watch Tsumugi talk, but said nothing after that.

“At that time, I was nothing more than ‘an enemy’ as ‘a member of ex-fine, who subjugated the oddballs.’ It was a foolish assumption to think we still had a friendship after all I had done... There wouldn’t be any reason to call me ‘Aoba-kun’ otherwise.”

There had been no response when Tsumugi turned back to Rei, smiling when he caught Rei’s brows turning down. It relieved a few fears that, instead of questioning it, Rei was quietly paying attention and lingering on Tsumugi’s expression. After another half-moment, he’d glanced away.

Tsumugi continued. “We’ve been no closer than strangers since last year, but that’s when I thought I’d found out why. It’s more convenient to pretend nothing has changed, right? That’s why I don’t have any idea how to process what you told me... I haven’t seen it for myself.”

When Rei turned back to face him, he nodded. “But, even though I'm saying all this... don’t worry about apologizing, Rei-kun. Rather, act on what you feel, otherwise I won’t be able to tell.”

As if that statement had changed the entire atmosphere between them, Rei blinked at Tsumugi, lips parting only for a delayed gasp deafened by the wash of the tide. He stopped his footsteps, too, and Tsumugi only took two more before stopping and turning around.

“Rei-kun?”

This time, Rei’s footsteps led directly to Tsumugi’s. 

The end of a wave brushed all the way up to their toes, but Tsumugi didn’t notice the water touching the bottom of his feet with how Rei’s hands clasped both sides of his face.

This kiss lasted longer than Tsumugi expected -- he held still for two seconds, but Rei didn’t pull back. He, too, shut his eyelids on the third second, relaxing enough for his breath to slip through his lips and touch Rei’s.

This time, it was more... passionate.

His face was only left alone when Rei tilted his own face further to the side, barely retracting at all. Up close, his eyes were a lot less piercing, and Tsumugi didn’t feel invaded nor afraid, despite Rei’s expression being largely the same as it had been a minute before. Tsumugi’s surprise was an open book, from open eyes, so there wasn’t much to discover even if Rei _ could  _ have been staring into his soul.

The space between them warmed too much to remember the cold air, or the time, or that they were at least half an hour from the shoreline they’d started from.

When his eyes fell shut again, Tsumugi’s lips stretched to a smile again. “I see.”

“Was that a clear enough demonstration, Aoba-kun?” Rei’s stare relaxed, though during the rhetorical question his tone was firm and smug.

“Ahaha... yes. Although after that, I have even more questions...” 

* * *

"As you're the one with endless friendships, please enlighten me. Do _ friends _ kiss each other? Is that supposedly normal?"

Rei himself wasn't sure whether he was asking it as a genuine question or not. Tsumugi looked up to the sky after Rei finished his sentence, pensive. He would've answered instantly had he known the answer offhand. The more time passed in ocean-filled silence, the more Rei knew the answer to be 'no', not considering why Tsumugi was still so quiet. It'd be strange if friends kissed each other like this, wouldn't it?

"Yes, on some level."

Rei snapped back to attention at that, caught off guard by that answer. Tsumugi had yet to look away from the sky.

"Culturally, it'd be reserved a lot more, but... we're in an all-boys school, and highschoolers at that." Grinning for some reason, Tsumugi turned his head to face Rei while still leaning back a bit. "You have experience with kissing, too, don't you? It's not unusual."

"So, it's not something particularly special, then." Rei sounded as defeated as he felt. What did that mean, then? If they were still friends despite kissing each other... what was it he felt with Tsumugi, anyway? If it wasn't anything more, it'd be hard to accept how lacking his life had been all this time-- not a subject he'd like to think about.

"It's not as if all friendships are the same, Rei-kun." Picking up on the obvious deflation, Tsumugi reached to pat Rei's back while they were walking. "You shouldn't try to define relationships so firmly. That sort of boundary isn't useful with how different each person on this planet is."

"Let me ask you something, Tsumugi."

Tsumugi's hand slid off Rei's shoulder at that, while he slowed down at the same moment Rei did.

"How did you feel when I kissed you?"

Another round of blinking. Tsumugi moved his gaze down to the sand, curling his fingers over his lips. He wasn't quiet for long and moved his hand away once he spoke. "... Warm. Safe. Understood, though I'm not sure how." His mouth didn't close fully and his fingers hovered over his lips again. "It's as though I'm accepted, even for what I am. It was comforting, the sort of feeling I like to think I can provide, too."

It had been so long since he'd looked away from Tsumugi's face that when Rei glanced up at the stars, his eyes had to adjust. Those words were beyond comforting -- despite Tsumugi's hesitance, he said he felt a very similar way.

"Even for who you are, yes." Rei's single nod was to the stars as much as it was to Tsumugi. "Are those things also a part of a normal friendship?"

Sighing, Tsumugi shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of, no, however I do notice that in other people."

"Hm. Like who?"

"Eichi-kun and Hibiki-kun. They're very different people, but they're still close, even though I don't think Eichi-kun would understand it."

" _ Kuku _ . Do you understand it, then?"

"Rei-kun, you're intentionally distracting me, aren't you?"

* * *

In essence, the rest of the walk back was mostly spent trying to determine what they felt about each other -- for each other. The conclusion wasn't very definitive, but the boardwalk was back in sight, so maybe it would just be best to hold onto those thoughts.

Once he'd bent down to wash his sandals in the tide, Tsumugi struggled a little bit when leaning back upright, nearly falling backwards as he rose to his feet properly. Rei steadied him with a hand, of course. He had so many questions to ask, none of them particularly important.

"How did your sandals get so much sand on them? We haven't worn them at all, Tsumugi."

"Yes, well." Tsumugi's huff came with a frown. " Someone thought it would be a _great_ idea to nap on a sandy hill and leave the towel to me afterward." He shook the sandals off to the side, flicking water.

Rei sighed. Yes, that was his fault, wasn't it? "Hand them to me."

It was just a gentle suggestion that Tsumugi took. Rei wiped off the sandals with his fingers, Tsumugi watching as almost every grain was wiped off from only two fingers. Apparently, he'd become awestruck once Rei handed back the sandals.

After that, Rei reached down to wash his fingers off in the tide at their feet again. Unfortunately, just like Tsumugi before, he very nearly fell forward -- and in the process of being caught, the sandals fell out of Tsumugi's hands, right into the tide. Rei's reaction time just narrowly caught one, and the other one nearly escaped if not for his foot catching it, too.

Once again, Tsumugi was awestruck when helping Rei to his feet and taking the sandals back, sandy once more. "That was quite an impressive catch, Rei-kun. I don't expect anything less, though. ♪"

* * *

... After another moment passed without a response, Tsumugi followed Rei's distant, oceanward gaze. The sight was obviously picturesque -- the dawn was still far off, but the clouds scattered all the way out to the curvature of the earth... the purple edges, and the colors gradually warming from the closer each cloud rested above the horizon. Considering that Rei  _ clearly _ wasn't looking, Tsumugi snuck his hand over, pushing each of his fingers through the gaps of Rei's fingers.

"I've never truly appreciated the dawn." Rei was quiet again, but this time, he was audible, even with the tide. The smallest smile widened as Tsumugi watched Rei speak. "I may be becoming tired, but I feel as though the sun will bless me, rather than curse me... us."

Tsumugi's smile mirrored Rei's little one while he looked away from the early dawn. He squeezes Rei's hand on a whim, who then tightly curls his own fingers around Tsumugi's hand.

Rei still didn't look away for a long time -- Tsumugi had looked back to the clouds steadily brightening at the edges by the time Rei turned his head. "It's beautiful, Tsumugi... somehow, I feel as though I've been missing out." His tone remained wistful, an unspoken sentiment shared between both of them.

Tsumugi smiled, meeting Rei's eyes. "I'm genuinely happy to have shown you this, Rei-kun. It's one of the many treasures the world has to offer you." He was the one who pulled Rei's face closer for another kiss, a particularly short one, yet neither of them felt as though they needed anything more from it.

"The bridge of magpies will soon form again, Tsumugi. But for now... perhaps we should head back, before the sunlight begins to reach us."

Rei would be enough of a beautiful sight to tear Tsumugi's eyes away from the sky -- clearly a better one, but he  _ did _ like having both. That was why he stepped behind Rei, tugging his hand to turn him around so his back faced the ocean, ignoring the safety advice to never do so -- just for a moment. And even though Rei couldn't comprehend why Tsumugi stared at him like this, he wasn't complaining, either.

It's an amazing sight, with Rei standing between the bright, blooming colors of the clouds, surrounded by the ocean on either side. Tsumugi burned it into his memory.

"Alright, I'm satisfied now. Thank you, Rei-kun... you look stunning like this." Tsumugi's cheeks bloomed bright, too, despite his wide smile.

"Like what?"

"Oh, just you with the sunrise behind you. I know you don't like the sun, but that's why we're heading back." Tsumugi pulled on Rei's hand to pull him back to the boardwalk, enjoying the matching deep blush on Rei's cheeks. How unusual for someone so handsome and popular to be so embarrassed. Maybe Tsumugi's thoughts would later tell him he didn't deserve it, but the sense of peace right now was perfect. He'd like to keep that.

Rei's face remained otherwise flushed, but something else lurked. "Tsumugi..." 

"Eh?"

"... As soon as the bridge of magpies forms, let's meet like this again."

Tsumugi couldn't help but laugh, glancing down at their hands, still together. "Why are you so obsessed with that metaphor? We can meet any time, you know."

Finally, Rei smiled again, even though he opened his mouth to try to complain. "That is true, but--"

"-- All you need to do is ask for it." Tsumugi cut him off, putting a finger to Rei's lips. "You're never this shy. It's not unwelcome, but you might want to take initiative in this, as well."

Rei's eyes widened until that finger slid off his lips, catching his lower lip in the process. He... chuckled. "You're right. However, you would do well to get some rest, Tsumugi. You are being considerably bolder than usual."

"Ahaha, fine, fine. You'd better head back soon, too." 

Finally, their hands unlinked. Tsumugi's glasses would hide the beginning of the dark circles just fine, and Rei was due for a nap, given that he yawned widely when his hand was freed, leaning forward against the fence on the edge of the boardwalk.

"I'll stay here for just a bit longer... for once, I want to watch the sunrise in its entirety." Rei waved his hand forward, gesturing away, even though he, too, still grinned. "Go on, go on."

"Be careful not to watch the sun for too long, Rei-kun." Tsumugi stepped back, adjusting his bag on his shoulder and giving a wave. "Enjoy."

Rei was planning on doing so, and yet... there was a sense of loneliness immediately dawning in his heart while watching Tsumugi walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can't believe this chapter was 80% done since literally the time i posted the last chapter. i'm so sorry


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you love someone, let them go... or not.

Something felt so  _ wrong _ with the first few steps Tsumugi took after turning around. Again, he was overthinking, he told himself, and Rei had shooed him back to the school anyway. Surely he should just listen, head back as instructed.

But Tsumugi didn't  _ want _ to leave. Wasn't it Rei himself who had mentioned he liked people who didn't listen to him? The people who stood up to him, or the people who weren't swayed by his influence? That was, he'd said, the bigger reason he treasured Tsumugi so much, and certainly not as  _ just _ a friend.

In retrospect, Tsumugi had never thought about his own feelings toward Rei the entire night, which was a mistake he'd like to correct.

Once he had reached the same boardwalk that they had stood on at the start of the date, he brushed off his feet, put on the slightly soggy sandals, and leaned over the handrails to look back. Rei still stood there, a beautiful sunrise in front of him, a faint shadow forming behind his figure. Some part of Tsumugi stirred inside, unrelated to the layers of guilt it was buried under. Maybe the guilt was there to cover up whatever had just shifted underneath.

The sky and the sea surrounded Rei's form while the sunlight swallowed the clouds in brightened pinks with orange lining. Tsumugi's heart sank at the same time his brows lowered. This was surely a gorgeous sight, but the picture was incomplete when it was just Rei alone there. Even then, if there had been a second person there, the flutters in his body would have fallen, or would have become cold.

Whether he deserved it or not, Tsumugi took off his sandals again, stuffed them in his bag, and bounded all the way back to Rei.

Back beside Rei not to complete the picture, but because that was where Tsumugi _wanted_ to be.

* * *

"Rei-kuuuun!"

The very moment Tsumugi called out to him, Rei turned his back to the ocean again. The danger in ignoring 'sneaker waves' didn't register in his mind whatsoever when there was an entirely different type of danger facing him.

When Tsumugi slowed to a stop, he was smiling wider than Rei had ever seen from him, somehow brighter than the sun he had just turned away from. It caught him so off guard how easy it was for Tsumugi to catch his hand just as easily. Blinking, but not looking away, Rei couldn't follow what was happening or why his chest felt so many flutters and warmth. It hadn't been this strong during the date. Was this still part of the date? Rei had assumed by now that it was over, but regardless, his thought was cut off with that wide hand holding his cheek. Tsumugi's smile softened as he admired Rei's increasingly pink expression, who was still lost in the daze of affections flitting around inside. 

As Rei still struggled to collect his thoughts, Tsumugi pressed their lips together, this time with a passion similar to what Rei had given him earlier. It was no simple passion, nor a surface attraction. What were Tsumugi's words at that time... warm, safe, and somehow understood? No, the important part was 'accepted for who I am'. 

Rei Sakuma, formerly treated as a god, then a demon, a vampire -- but deeper down, always longed to be considered human, treated as such, and to be... himself. That feeling of being unconditionally  _ accepted _ must have been what Tsumugi felt before. To even think such a feeling would be returned toward him...

He didn't mind at all that Tsumugi pulled his lips away, because their faces were only three inches apart. If anything, Rei had enough space to form his own gentle smile, finding comfort rather than embarrassment in the strength of his blush. He wasn't the only one, either. Even the bridge of Tsumugi's nose was tinted pink.

Once Tsumugi laced his fingers together with Rei's again, he pulled his eyes away to watch their hands as he swayed them a little.

"Rei-kun..." Tsumugi began, soft and gentle. "The moment I stepped onto the boardwalk, where we'd started, I looked back and realized that what I felt towards you wasn’t guilt, nor a desire to atone. Rather, it now feels... romantic." He returned his gaze back to Rei's while he said it. There was simply no way to doubt the honesty of 'romantic' coming from Tsumugi, who was usually  _ too _ honest, for better or worse.

There was some frozen, heavy part of Rei melting that he never before noticed.

"I didn't want to leave you alone, of course. But I realized that I, personally,  _ wanted _ to be at your side. Maybe it's just because of self-indulgence that I came back, but you said you like people that don't mindlessly listen to you. This is me listening to my own earlier advice. 'Act on what you feel', really."

Perhaps Rei let Tsumugi go on with this speech too long, but he had yet to get tired of Tsumugi's voice, and he was especially enjoying this speech. There was too much of these emotions flooding through his mind. A very enjoyable and equally self-indulgent experience.

Though, when Tsumugi spoke no further, Rei filled in the silence. "Tsumugi."

"Oh, you used my first name again! That makes me even happier! I missed the days when you would use my name freely... Huh?"

Rei couldn't stop himself from a little laughter, especially when Tsumugi finally remembered to let go of his cheek. "The days are not going to rewind to simpler times just because I'm using your given name. If anything, they will only be further complicated. We are two idols on a date confessing romantic feelings for each other."

"... That's true." Tsumugi hummed, shifting back to a grin. "I wouldn't want to go back, anyway. You're saying you have romantic feelings for me so freely! I'm so happy... you've never been this honest, Rei-kun."

\-- Which was not exactly what Rei  _ assumed  _ he'd said, but the fact that Tsumugi instantly knew it shouldn't have come as a surprise. However, the real surprise was his instant urge to be childish about it. "You said it first!"

"Ahaha… it’s not like I mind. Rather, I think we’re missing the point of being out here. Weren’t we supposed to watch the sunrise?"

"... We were, yes." Rei cleared his throat. "Shall we?"

* * *

There weren't too many words spoken about anything besides the risk of blindness, watching the sun for too long, taking more iron supplements, and so on. Neither of them particularly understood what romance was below a surface level, so finding words proved especially difficult. Even so, not much was needed to be said between them to share a sense of relief, that it wasn't so important to describe it for the moment, because they both felt the same way.

After the sun's upper edges ghosted the top of the water, both agreed to go back before any more morning people jogged along the boardwalk. They weren't fully alone in watching the sunrise either, so it wouldn't be wise to waste more time. That said, the steps up to that boardwalk was where they began this date, and yet again Tsumugi paused to think about it. Rei noticed it quickly, and leaned against the railing behind them. He would have loved to hold onto Tsumugi's hand again, but both of them knew better -- and the bicyclist passing by would be better off without knowing.

"It's been a long night." Tsumugi said before breaking out into a yawn. "And the best night I've had, but I'm so tired... "

"-- Look." Rei pointed his finger away from the sunrise and toward the dark blue remnants of the night sky. The light from the sun had already hid the distant starlight, but some were still visible nonetheless. "Tsumugi, you can still see it."

Tsumugi followed Rei's finger up to the stars. "See what?"

"The Summer Triangle."

[(art by tia - twt: @terriblemajokko)](https://twitter.com/TerribleMajokko)

A disproportionately large gasp followed. He caught sight of the asterism in question, and the small spread of his lips reflected the emotions that filled his heart. Rei had taken the entire night so seriously, and thoroughly absorbed all the useless facts Tsumugi had given him. "Rei..."

Rei crossed his arms and smirked to himself, thinking idly of how easily Tsumugi was stunned by any act of kindness he received, no matter how slight.

But, even so, he didn't know how to handle the sniffle he received in response. "Rei-kun... you remembered so much..." Of course Tsumugi was beaming again, but he was wiping a tear from his eye as well.

"Those were important things to you, so it's only natural I would want to recall them." Rei hummed with a nod.

"Well, no, they aren't important, it's more touching that you really were listening. You did look a bit vacant here and there, Rei-kun."

"... I don't know how to respond to that." Rei's attempt at being sweet seemed to have flown over Tsumugi's head. "Regardless, we truly do need to head back..."

* * *

The trek back to school was a time that allowed them to discover just how sandy their extremities had become over the course of the night. It was too close to the beginning of the school day to head back to their homes, yet too soon to enter the school. When Tsumugi worried about not being able to enter through the gate, Rei led him to one of Natsume's numerous secret passages. Coincidentally, they emerged close to the gym, then split up into seperate shower stalls to wash up.

The sand floated off their bodies, slid down like grainy mud, flowing over and off their limbs on the edge of shower rivulets, and at last swirled into the drain. The long date had cleansed the smudges of unpleasant memories from before the date, divided the guilt and resentment from the budding emotions, and left only the gentle affection in their hearts.

Tsumugi was washing his arms off, wiping sand off his shoulder when a slight pang went through his stomach/when he felt a slight pang in his stomach. "Rei-kun, do you know what time the cafeteria opens this morning? I haven't eaten since last night." 

"If you are hungry, I have plenty of snacks and refreshments in my coffin." Rei was busy washing his sides without the same hunger.

"Ahaha... like what?"

"Off the top of my head..." Rei zoned out yet again and stared at the divider between the stalls. "Tomato soup, cranberry-raspberry juice..."

Tsumugi grimaced in the other stall. "Anything  _ solid _ ?"

"Ah, of course I have some fruits... a fizzy soda in case Ritsu drops by, sandwich meat for Undead..."

"Umm... I'll visit the cafeteria when it opens."

  
It would only be a couple of hours anyway, so Tsumugi would be fine.

* * *

By the time both of them were back in Rei's clubroom and munching on some snacks, curls were forming in Tsumugi's still-wet hair and the ends of Rei's hair began to stretch into waves despite its dampness. Although attention-grabbing as this was, Rei yawned while he played with one of the curls, so Tsumugi yawned too, and a cycle of sleepiness formed.

Rei pulled open his coffin lid without thinking, sat down and patted the other side. "Come, come... there is still time to take a nap before the school day begins."

"If I'm late to class, I'll blame it on you, Rei-kun." Tsumugi climbed into the coffin without any other protests.

He was surprised at just how comfortable the coffin was, but he would have preferred to wake up earlier. As soon as he had been shifted around to fit, Tsumugi laid his head down, nested his chin over Rei's head, and forgot about everything besides the previous night.

Despite being well aware he would need to wake up in time, he didn't set an alarm, so when Tsumugi opened his eyes he thought to check his phone. Rei peeked at the screen once his eyes opened, but the blue tint in the backlight was too bright, so he buried his face in the side of Tsumugi's curls. How unfortunate that the time read twenty-three minutes before class began, because once his nap partner looked at his phone, the cuddle was over. Rei had to retract his arm and move his legs, even with how heavy and sore his limbs were after that much relaxation.

Tsumugi, on the other hand, appeared rather panicked, digging through his bag. Rei grumbled as he pulled himself against the side of the coffin. "Tsumugi... what's the matter?"

"Ah-- this shirt is yesterday's! I don't have a spare one in my locker, so--"

Rei quickly cut him off. "You may borrow one of mine. There are several in the top drawer of that cabinet to your left."

With no hesitation and no question of sizing, Tsumugi took one of the shirts in the drawer, turned away and changed out of his previous shirt. It was a shame that Rei’s eyes were still a bit blurry, but rubbing his eyes meant he would miss the chance to watch.

The rest of the uniform would be acceptable for the day, if the big sigh of relief was any indication. Without even acknowledging Rei, Tsumugi hauled up his bag and turned toward the door, apparently in  _ that _ much of a rush.

"Hey, don't just leave me hangin'. Come back and give me a kiss." Rei's tone had reverted in his tired state, but he didn't particularly care as he continued to smirk at Tsumugi.

And, naturally, Tsumugi couldn't resist at all. He smiled and leaned down to offer one. 

It was quick and simple, but warmed both hearts, mutually aware of their fluttering affections settling down comfortably.

... However, as soon as Tsumugi was out the door and Rei had laid his head back down, the door to the clubroom opened again. He raised his head, expecting that Tsumugi had left something behind.

"Hah, vampire bastard. The hell was Aoba... senpai doin' here? Guy nearly bumped into me and he smelled like you."

No, this was Koga. Rei rubbed his eyes and didn't respond in an appropriate time frame, apparently, because Koga lifted his head, sniffed, and scrunched his nose.

"-- And why the hell's this room smellin' like  _ him _ ?"

...

Oh dear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> this is the longest fic i've ever finished, so i'm really happy if you've finished the whole thing... thanks for the people that stuck it out and left kudos, it's truly those little kudos e-mails at 2 in the morning saying "A user/guest left kudos on Summer Triangle!" that kept me going. hope you enjoyed!!


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